A Limavady “hidden” car trader has been given a five month prison sentence suspended for three years and ordered to pay compensation amounting to £4,200 and court costs of £70 at the local Magistrates Court.
Kenneth Semple pleaded guilty to four charges under the Fraud Act 2006 in a case brought by the Trading Standards Service (TSS) of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.
In December 2011, the TSS received a complaint about a clocked VW Caddy van being offered for sale from a private house in Limavady.
Further complaints were received by the TSS about a Honda Accord sold to a gentleman with 76,000 miles. In fact, it had travelled at least 123,000 miles.
A VW Passat was sold with 65,000 miles when the true mileage was 124,421 or thereabouts.
TSS investigations revealed that Semple had been engaged in the business of selling vehicles online using a false name and unregistered mobile telephone numbers.
It was common practice for Semple to present the vehicles he was selling to prospective buyers at filling stations around the Limavady area or at random private houses.
Anyone purchasing one of the vehicles would have had no means of redress against Semple as he falsely represented himself by giving false names and addresses.
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